At least 20 people have been killed and 70 others injured after an explosion struck a train carrying military personnel in Pakistan.
The blast occurred on Sunday morning as the train passed through Chaman Phatak station in Quetta, the capital of the country’s southwestern Balochistan region.
Railway officials told BBC Urdu that the explosion derailed three coaches and the locomotive, while two carriages overturned. The train was reportedly transporting service personnel and their families returning home for Eid celebrations.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a suicide bombing. Pakistani authorities have yet to confirm the claim.
Images from the scene showed charred and mangled carriages, damaged nearby vehicles, and structural damage to surrounding buildings.
Eyewitnesses described the moment of the blast as the train was in motion with passengers on board.
“The train was moving and there were passengers on board when the explosion occurred,” local resident Naseer Ahmed told the BBC, adding that the force of the blast shattered windows in nearby homes.
A police officer and a civil administration official in Balochistan confirmed to BBC Urdu that 20 people had been killed, warning that the death toll could still rise.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, describing it as a “cowardly act of terrorism” that would not weaken the country’s resolve.
He added that the nation stood in solidarity with the people of Balochistan during what he called a moment of deep grief.
Emergency services have since been placed on high alert, with hospitals across the region treating the injured.
Officials said passengers aboard the train were travelling from a nearby military camp to the main railway station in Quetta before continuing their journey to Peshawar and eventually to their hometowns for the holiday period.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks targeting trains in Balochistan, where the separatist militant group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has repeatedly carried out assaults in recent years.
The Jaffar Express, in particular, has been targeted several times over the past two years.
In March 2025, militants hijacked the train while it was travelling to Peshawar and held a number of passengers hostage, escalating security concerns across the region.
The BLA accuses the federal government of exploiting Balochistan’s vast mineral wealth without adequately benefiting local communities.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by landmass, covers nearly 44 percent of the country’s territory. The region borders Iran and Afghanistan and stretches along part of the Arabian Sea coastline. Despite its size and natural resources, it is home to only about five percent of Pakistan’s population of more than 240 million people.
Tensions in the province have remained high in recent months. In early February, clashes between BLA fighters and Pakistani security forces in Quetta and other parts of the region left at least 31 civilians dead.